Richard Rojas, accused in deadly Times Square crash, found not responsible due to mental illness
NEW YORK -- The verdict is in for the man who drove his car through crowds of pedestrians in Times Square in 2017, killing a teenager and injuring many others.
A jury on Wednesday cleared Richard Rojas of responsibility because of mental illness.
CBS2's Alice Gainer spoke exclusively with the family of the teen who was killed.
The family of Alyssa Elsman said it was not the verdict they were hoping for. Rojas is still in custody and faces another hearing.
The jury accepted an insanity defense, claiming Rojas, then 26, was so psychologically disturbed, he didn't know what he was doing when he drove through pedestrians in Times Square.
"The justice system failed us," a family member said.
Ava Elsman, then 13 and visiting New York City with her family from Michigan, was severely injured with a broken leg, collapsed lung, and broken ribs. She took the stand during the trial. Her older sister, 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, was killed.
"I have to live the rest of my life without my sister," Ava Elsman said.
Equally outraged was Abigail McGuire, Alyssa's best friend.
"I just wanted the world to know that she did not deserve this," McGuire said. "She was just a normal girl. She worked at Sonic. She was an older sister."
More than 20 people were hurt that day. Pictures of their injuries were shown in court, as well as video of the car from all angles.
Family members of Rojas, like his brother, testified how his mental health declined further after being kicked out of the Navy in 2014. He was present for the verdict and had no comment outside the courthouse.
And though prosecutors said Rojas, now 31, was having a psychotic episode, including hearing voices, they argued he knew what he was doing by selecting the Crossroads of the World and had full control of his car when he drove onto the sidewalk for several blocks with precision.
The defense said Rojas "lost his mind" and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, showing video of him jumping out of his car yelling "What happened?"
"This is, I think, the right, humane verdict," attorney Enrique DeMarco said.
"Hope he gets the proper help he needs. He'll be in a hospital getting the help he needs," fellow defense attorney Glenn Abolafia added.
But Alyssa Elsman's father was in disbelief.
"He's not getting out, but we don't get to do a victim impact statement, and he doesn't go to jail. He doesn't get to spend his last days on Rikers, which wouldn't have bothered me one bit. So, yeah, it's bad," Thomas Elsman said.
There will be a hearing Thursday regarding a psychiatric examination. Once that is completed there will be another hearing to determine whether and where Rojas is committed.
"He's going to get this treatment that he so desperately needs and maybe he'll never get out, as it's open ended," litigation attorney Andrew Lieb told CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis. "Unlike jail, which we look at as a retribution, something to punish someone, the purpose here is to rehabilitate someone and give him the things he needs. Perhaps 10 years, 20 years, whatever it could take, he could be a functioning member of society and that's what the jury decided."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office didn't comment on camera after, but released a statement sending condolences to the victims and families.
Rojas had several other prior criminal cases. Just days before the Times Square incident, he pleaded guilty to a harassment charge after pulling a knife on a notary in his home and accusing them of trying to steal his identity.